


Forgiveness and Sacrifice

by SansyFresh



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Mental Conditioning, No Smut, Romance tho, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 10,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7688848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansyFresh/pseuds/SansyFresh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Honey Mustard tale, with a bit of a twist. Sans is getting progressively better in Underswap, while his brother is tortured and abused back in Underfell. What will the Swap brothers do when Fell shows up, a broken monster?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something I actually started writing back at the beginning of June, and I had to rewrite bits and pieces for...reasons... Enjoy!

"Ack! B-boss...p-please s-stop!" Sans cowered on the cold, hard floor as he did every day of his life, waiting for his brother to stop beating the ever loving shit out of him. Normally he didn't beat him this long, but once again Sans had fallen asleep at his station, only to wake up three hours after he was supposed to be home. Waking up to complete darkness had confused him for a moment, until he realized where he was. Dreading the upcoming punishment so much that he had begun to hyperventilate, Sans blipped home, only to find his Boss and brother, Papyrus, waiting for him on their nasty, old couch. Papyrus looked pissed for sure, but didn't start the beating until Sans tried to explain what happened. Mentioning the word sleep was what had set Papyrus off. So now there he was, in the floor, crying, begging, like some worthless animal. His brother punished him without a word, which was more terrifying than if he had been yelling at him.

 

"P-please!" Sans sobbed, raising his arms to protect his already disfigured face. A long scar ran across his right eye from some long ago punishment, aching now as Sans got yet another beating. Hearing the desperation in Sans’ voice, Papyrus smiled, standing to his full height before kicking his worthless piece of shit brother in the ribs. Then, to Sans' shaky relief, the beating stopped. Crouching down, Papyrus lifted his brother by the collar and dragged him from their couch until he reached the front door.

 

"Blip. Now. Your station." Papyrus commanded, his voice gruff and heartless. Sans complied immediately, knowing there would be more kicks to the ribs if he didn't comply when his Boss said. As soon as they were in front of his station, Papyrus threw Sans against it, then made a cage of bones around it, all glowing a hellish red. 

"Since you like sleeping here so much, you can stay here tonight." Papyrus said coolly before turning around and beginning the cold walk home. Sans sat in his station, mute with horror. He didn't think he would make it through the night, but maybe that was for the best.

 

Sighing when his Boss had disappeared from view, Sans huddled in the floor of his station, trying to keep himself warm. After a while he simply sat there, eyes black, his hands at his sides. He was going to die, there was no way he'd make it all night in the cold. A sense of warm came through his soul as Sans realized he would finally be free from the torment, from the pain, from his brother. Sighing again and closing his eyes, Sans felt himself drift off into the darkness, until he was nothing but dust.


	2. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Waking up slowly, Papyrus tried rubbing his eye sockets before opening them. It didn't help as the light from the outside world stabbed into his skull, blinding him. He tried to remember if he had had a nightmare the previous night, but he couldn't recall. Groaning, Papyrus slipped out of his warm, comfortable bed, knowing that if he didn't his older bro would go ballistic. Grinning to himself as he thought about Sans' last outburst, Papyrus tried to think on what it had been about but couldn't. Probably the sock in the living room. Chuckling, Papyrus grabbed his trademark orange hoody and blipped downstairs, as more of a reflex than anything.

 

"Good morning, Papy!" Sans said, bubbly as ever. He had been making breakfast as he always did before the two of them left for work. Sometimes, Papyrus thought, his brother's chipperness was just too much to handle this early in the morning.

 

"Morning bro. I'm going ahead to my post, I'm not hungry." Papyrus quickly felt bad at the disappointed look in his bro's eyes, a plate of breakfast tacos already in his little hands. So, to appease him, Papyrus hugged him and grabbed a few before blipping off, Sans' warning not to nap while he was at work fresh in his ears. Laughing quietly to himself, Papyrus landed in front of his station, slowly eating one of the tacos as he walked. What he saw when he went to sit made him drop his food in the snow.

 

~.~

Sans was decidedly cramped up from the cold, but to his dismay, he wasn't dead. Just stiff and in a lot of pain. He sat there for a while, trying to move, but found that his limbs were just offline. So he sat, and waited for Boss to come get him. There would probably be another punishment, but Sans didn't care as long as he got warmed up. Soon the cold was once again unbearable, and Sans felt himself drifting off. Before his eyes closed, he heard a faint crunching sound to the side, and looked up to see Boss, in weird clothes, but Boss nonetheless. 

 

"P-please...B-boss, I-i'm s-sorry, I'm s-so c-cold...please..." Sans whimpered before drifting off.

 

~.~

 

Papyrus stood still for a minute, shocked at the sight of Sans laying at his station. He would have ran forward immediately, but the truth was that this wasn't his Sans. The little guy was in a red, torn shirt, and a heavy black jacket that didn't seem to actually fit him. But when the poor thing had begun to beg him, calling him Boss, it made Papyrus sick. So, taking drastic measures, Papyrus took off his hoody and wrapped it around the shivering Sans. Picking him up gently, Papyrus thought about things for a moment, then pulled his cell-phone out of his hoody pocket.

 

"Papyrus? Did you forget something?" Sans answered after the second ring. Papyrus sighed. He didn't know how to explain things, but he didn't want to risk his bro's life if this Sans was as dangerous as he looked. His bro wouldn't understand, but Papyrus figured he'd explain it later.

 

"No. Sans, I need you to get some things packed and go to Alphys' house right now. Tell her it’s an emergency and that you have to stay over there for a little while. Like a sleepover, 'kay bro? And Sans...I need you to not be home when I get there." Papyrus said more gruffly than he meant to, hanging up before his bro could argue or ask why. Sighing, Papyrus began the long walk home, hoping that the extra exertion from the walk would help warm up the little skeleton in his arms.


	3. Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Sans drifted slowly out of sleep again, this time with a splitting headache. Opening his sockets was a huge mistake. He tried to put his hands up to his head to block out the light, but found that they were trapped under something. Nearly panicking out of his skin (he would have laughed at the pun if he wasn't terrified), Sans realized he was home, on his couch, and under some kind of heavy, itchy wrapping. Pushing it down and away from him quickly, Sans hopped off the couch, nearly falling over in pain before making his way quickly to the door. He didn’t think he could handle Boss yelling at him right now. His bones ached as he swung the door open, preparing to run outside, when something caught in his chest. Knowing it was Boss' magic, Sans gulped and turned around, his Boss not two feet away from him.

 

"Where do you think you're going?”

 

~.~

 

Papyrus was grateful that his bro had cleared out before he got home. It would make things less difficult. Laying the strange Sans on the couch, Papyrus covered him up with a heavy quilt, then sat in the kitchen to have a smoke. Smoking always cleared his mind, so that's what he usually did when things were making him tense up, unless his older bro caught him. Sitting alone in the kitchen for a few minutes proved to be tiring, and he felt his eyes close. About half an hour later they snapped back open, Papyrus hearing the little skeleton on the couch hyperventilate and skitter for the front door. Sighing, he lifted a hand, his orange tinted magic encompassing the smaller. Walking up behind him, Papyrus saw the small skeleton shudder before turning around to face him.

 

"Where do you think you're going?" Papyrus said in a lazy drawl, his smoke still between his lips. The small Sans shuddered again, tears forming in his eyes. Papyrus noticed that the he had not looked up at him once.

 

"I'm s-sorry B-boss, I-i'm so-sorry...p-please, B-boss, I'll b-be g-good..." Papyrus felt his soul squeeze as the little guy lost his shit trying to grovel for mercy. Not that Papyrus meant any harm to him. But...where ever he came from, it didn't seem like it was such a nice place. Walking slowly up to new Sans, Papyrus decided to experiment a bit. He put his hand out, and sure enough, he cringed and closed his eyes tight, like he was gonna get hit for freaking out. Papyrus put his hand back down, then turned around and made him float into the kitchen. The Sans seemed to be a bit shocked that he wasn't hit, but Papyrus knew he wouldn't just let his guard down. The kid seemed to be too traumatized to ever let his guard down. 

 

Sighing, Papyrus lowered Sans onto one of the wooden kitchen chairs and grabbed a container of soup from the cabinet. Heating it up in the microwave for a few seconds, Papyrus put the steaming contents in a bowl and grabbed a spoon. Setting it before the completely silent Sans, Papyrus decide to play along, not sure how freaked the little guy would get if he figured out too quickly that this wasn't his universe. So, after sitting in front of Sans for a few moments, Papyrus snapped when the other didn't start eating. He immediately regretted it as the strange Sans nearly fell out of his seat.

 

"Eat."

 

~.~

 

Sans yelped and began chowing down on the soup, even though it was still really hot. He hoped that would make Boss happy, seeing as how he had only so far done things to make him angry. So, as the scalding soup made its way down his throat, he tried not to whimper, and didn't dare look up at his brother. When he was done Boss took the dishes and lifted him with magic, taking him to the living room. Setting him on the couch, Boss told him to strip.

 

Shocked but not really surprised, Sans complied immediately, figuring Boss was going to punish him like he did sometimes, when he was in a weird mood. Laying himself down on the couch, Sans closed his eyes and nervously tugged at the leather collar his brother made him wear. Sighing and deciding that no matter what he did, Boss would do what he wanted, he shuddered but spread his legs obediently.

 

~.~

 

Papyrus watched as the little guy stripped, but hadn't told him to for any reason other than he wanted to check to see if he had any injuries that needed treatment. Papyrus felt himself become sick as he saw just how many the poor skeleton had, and his hand went over his mouth as he saw faint cracks in the kid's pelvis. His eyes growing darker by the second, Papyrus really, really wanted to have a talk with whoever had done this to the copy of his big brother. What completely mortified him was when the kid laid down on the couch and spread his legs apart, his eyes scrunched shut. Realizing what it meant, realizing that the little guy thought he wanted to rape him... Papyrus blipped into the back yard and heaved everything that had been sitting in his stomach. Wiping his mouth after a few minutes, Papyrus blipped back in the house to find Sans still on the couch, still silent with his eyes still clenched shut.

 

"I can't play this game anymore kid. You might freak, but I can't do it. Look at me, Sans." Papyrus said softly. The skeleton immediately opened his eyes, full of confusion as to why his Boss wasn't hurting him yet. "I am not your Boss." Papyrus said simply, gently taking one of Sans’ hands, preparing for the worst. Sans laid there for a minute, looking Papyrus over, when it looked like it clicked and his eyes went completely black. Papyrus jerked forward, shocked, and saw that the poor kid had passed out. Sighing, Papyrus carried him upstairs and placed him in his big bro's bed, covering him up gently. He would need to take the kid for a checkup with Undyne, but right now he didn't think the kid would be able to handle it. So, he let him sleep, until he eventually passed out himself.


	4. Fell

Papyrus woke up as he always did. With a growl and a curse. Waking up so early had always put a strain on his body, but being the type of monster he was, not having a schedule stressed him out more than not having enough sleep. Rubbing his eyes carefully, Papyrus groaned...what had happened last night? Mentally cursing himself, Papyrus stood and got dressed quickly as he remembered the punishment he had given to his older brother. Papyrus always regretted them afterwards, but couldn't bring himself to stop. Knowing how much of a piece of shit he was, Papyrus' self-loathing was enough to rival Sans'. 

 

Hoping that his brother had disobeyed him and came home, Papyrus stormed to the adjacent bedroom and kicked the door in. No Sans on the bed. Panic starting to grip his soul, Papyrus stomped downstairs, thinking that maybe his brother had simply decided to crash on the couch. No Sans on the couch. Truly distressed now, Papyrus ran out the door of his home, out to the back shed that he was sure Sans never meant to tell him about. To his dismay there was no Sans there either. Terror filling his body, Papyrus ran through town, ignoring the looks the other monsters gave him. He ran until he got to Sans’ station, praying to Asgore that his brother would somehow be alive.

 

Papyrus crumpled to his knees as his hands sifted through the dust that was once his Sans. His poor, sweet, Sans.


	5. Blueberry

It had been about a week since Sans had been told that he was no longer in his universe. The shock sent him straight into a dark place in his mind, the one he always went to when things were too intense on the outside. When he woke up he had nearly freaked out again, seeing Papyrus sitting in front of him, but quickly reminded himself that this Papyrus wasn't his Boss, and didn't seem like he could ever have malintent towards anyone; he had an air of laziness on him that rivaled Sans’. So Sans spent the rest of that week trying to calm himself and heal his distrust towards the friendly Papyrus. He would still jerk when Papyrus did anything too quickly, and he couldn't help but be nervous when he was touched, even if it was only a brushing in passing when they walked into different rooms.

 

Sans sighed as he thought over the last week, sitting on the couch in borrowed blue clothing and waiting while Papyrus finished explaining that he should probably brace himself. Papyrus' brother, who also happened to be a Sans (which made sense if he thought about it), was coming home that day to finally meet him, and Sans hoped the other him wouldn't hate him.

 

"Are you sure you're up for this?" You can go upstairs when he comes in." Papyrus said for the fourth time. Sans brushed him off, scowling.

 

"I'm not a baby bones, ya don't gotta worry so much Stretch." Sans was still not comfortable saying Papyrus, so he had given the taller skeleton a silly nickname. Papyrus sighed, smiling the carefree smirk he usually wore, then strode to the front door, flinging it open. Sans barely registered a blur of light blue before he was pinned on the couch, a happy, giggling version of himself hugging him tightly.

 

"Hi! My names Sans! I guess you already knew that, huh? Well, we can't both be Sans...I'll call you Red!" the little skeleton said loudly and without taking a breath. Sans cringed, but didn't push the other him off. He didn't want Stretch to have another reason to worry.

 

"That's fine." he whispered, hugging the other him tightly. "I'll call you Blue then." Blue seemed absolutely ecstatic at that, hugging Sans tighter than before, before getting up to hug Papyrus.

 

"Welcome home, bro. How was your stay at Alyphs'?" Papyrus drawled slowly. Blue went into great detail about how great his stay was while going in the kitchen to make supper. Sans watched him from the couch, then looked up at Papyrus.

 

"That is definitely not another me, Stretch." Sans said incredulously. There was nothing similar in how they acted, the only thing that made it possible was that they were identical in bone structure and height. Papyrus chuckled quietly, then beckoned him to the kitchen. Sans sighed, then followed, smiling. He could get used to a carefree life like this.

 

~.~

 

It had been a week since he had found his brother's dust. Papyrus would have offed himself if he didn't feel completely numb and emotionless at the discovery. So instead of ending it he simply went home, shed his armor, laid on the couch, and did nothing but stare at the ceiling. He didn't sleep and he didn't eat, which made his magic slowly deplete to a dangerous level. Not that he cared. Papyrus simply laid there for that week, shirking his responsibilities and, for once in his life, not giving a shit about what others thought. He was sure they would be there soon to finish him off. Papyrus would have been grateful at the thought if he could feel anything. Instead he laid there, not getting up five days later when there came a horrid pounding on his front door.

 

‘Maybe she'll end it.’ Papyrus thought, the first complete thought he'd had since that day. He knew it was his commander, Undyne. He also knew she hated laziness as much as he did. So, content with the thought that if he laid there she would kill him, Papyrus stayed where he was. Soon the pounding was joined by yelling, which quickly turned into screaming. Papyrus still did not get up. Finally the door was kicked open and Undyne stormed in, ready to give him a piece of her mind, as well as break more than a few of his bones. She stopped when she saw him on the couch, eyes staring ever unblinkingly upwards. 

 

Undyne had not once in her life seen a monster this pitiful or emotionless, and she had tortured quite a few in her day. Learning that her second-in-command had shirked his duties for a week and hadn't left his house the entire time made her furious. But now that she saw him, she was completely shocked. He still hadn't moved when she came in; he didn't even grace her with a glance while she stood there gawking at him. Undyne contemplated ending his miserable life, but couldn't bring herself to do it. While she stood there and thought, a distinct broiling sadness upset her stomach when she realized what must have happened.

 

"When did he die." Now there was an emotion on his face, one of pure rage and grief. But still he did not move, or even attempt to answer her. But now Undyne knew what was wrong.

 

"Did you do it." Undyne felt her stomach twist as Papyrus' face scrunched up, and tears started to form in his eyes. She had never in her life seen Papyrus cry, not even the day she broke his collar bone for talking back. The sight was unnerving.

 

"Please..." Papyrus muttered, now looking at her. Undyne, in her shock, didn't really hear him, the only thought in her head was that her second-in-command was crying before her.

 

"Please end it...just kill me." Undyne's face scrunched up now. The hurt and grief and rage that brimmed below the surface of Papyrus' face disappeared, and now he just looked tired. Summoning a spear, she felt her own eyes become moist as she lifted it, staring at Papyrus until he closed his eyes with relief. Shuddering, Undyne flicked her wrist, aiming for his skull. A quick and painless death, worthy of the once brave monster that was now in shambles before her. But she found that, despite all the hate she found in herself, she couldn't do it. Missing his skull by mere inches, she turned and ran out the door, shutting it behind her. Papyrus was disappointed, but not surprised. If he wasn't brave enough to off himself, why should he expect anyone else to do it? So he returned to staring at the ceiling, praying that death would come sooner, rather than later.


	6. Morning

Papyrus was honestly surprised when Red accepted his brother so quickly. He was almost jealous that he warmed up around Blue as fast as he did. Not that he was actually upset or anything. He was happy for him to have made this much progress in such a short amount of time, tibia honest (heh). But, it still hurt a little when he'd simply walk in a room and see Red flinch. Papyrus understood though. He couldn't even imagine what the smaller skeleton had gone through to be that afraid of his brother, and, by extension, Papyrus. But he understood. So, any time Red flinched, he gave him a smile. Any time Papyrus woke him up when he was having a nightmare, he kept his distance until Red recognized him, then comforted him. He was happy Red got along with Blue so quickly. As much as Red might deny it, Papyrus could see the similarities in the two. From the look of concentration they adopted when they wanted to get something right to the absolute bliss on their face when they ate their favorite foods. Every time he noticed how similar they acted he would chuckle to himself. His bros really were cool.

 

~.~

 

Red had gotten accustomed to Blue's daily patterns pretty quickly, since they weren't so different from what they had been back home. Although, if he decided to sleep in another hour Blue wouldn't beat his ass for it. Well, not that he actually had an ass...heh. Red had been there, living with the brothers for what must have been a month or two...he wasn't really keeping track of the time. 

 

He stretched as he got off the couch, Blue yelling that breakfast was ready. Blue had been surprised when Red told him to get him up when he did, but didn't press him on why. Red knew he couldn't stay here forever. Boss hadn't meant for him to die. In fact, Boss probably thought he would come back home some time that night. Too bad for him Red was too beat up to really think things through. Well, asshat as he was, Red couldn't just abandon his little brother. No matter what, they were brothers, and Red wasn't that cruel.

 

He sat at the kitchen table, a plate of tacos, hot and tangy, shoved under his face. Red smiled as he heard Blue run out of the room and upstairs to get Papyrus out of bed, soon yelling when Stretch didn't get up right away. Blue soon came back downstairs, huffing slightly, but smiling as he sat across from Red to eat his own breakfast. Stretch soon came downstairs, shuffling slowly into the room, his eyes closed. He ran his foot into the leg of Blue's chair and shouted a stream of curses, clutching his leg before slumping down in his seat. Blue was quick to reprimand him, going on and on about how unhealthy it was for Papyrus to curse all the time. Red secretly smiled, trying not to laugh as Stretch glared at him, his eyes still only half open.

 

"Not my fault you came in here ‘sans’ some common sense." Red said, almost crying as he laughed as Papyrus glared at him. Blue joined his laughter, and soon breakfast was forgotten, Blue and Red passing jokes back and forth.

 

"Bro, I thought you hated puns..." Papyrus grumbled, leaning back in his seat with his hand over his face. Blue giggled.

 

"Oh, I do Papy, just not when they fluster you so badly!" He then connected sight with Red, which sent them both back into breathless giggles.

 

'What's wrong, Stretch? You can dish it out, but you can't take it?" Red jeered, smirking. Papyrus growled at him halfheartedly, slumping down into his chair. 

 

Red and Blue laughed quietly as they eventually calmed down and began to eat once again. Stretch sighed and sipped his morning coffee, grateful for the stimulant. He normally would have preferred honey, but coffee seemed to wake him up a little better in the mornings. They were all, however, interrupted by a shrill ringing coming from Papyrus' pocket. 

 

"Y'ello." Papyrus had his phone next to where his ear would be as a shrill, panicked voice on the other end said something to him quickly. Red noticed Papyrus' hand was firmly gripping the phone after a few seconds, a dark look settled over his face. Papyrus suddenly hung up, standing to his feet and speed walking to the living room. Red got up quickly, concerned out of his mind. He had never seen Stretch this way. Blue followed as well, a tad bit afraid.  
"Wait, Stretch, what was that about? What's going on?" Papyrus pulled his arm away from Red, who had grasped it as he attempted to walk out the door.

 

"Muffet just found your brother."


	7. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short... Enjoy!

After convincing Red to stay home and cook supper with Blue, Papyrus blipped straight to Muffet’s. From what the bar owner had said, his duplicate was pretty out of it, but he had learned too much from Red to trust Muffet to be alone with him. As soon as he walked through the front door Muffet was in front of him, tears in her eyes.

“Papyrus, oh Papyrus he’s awake, oh it’s awful…” Papyrus held her in shock. What the hell was going on? Setting her gently in one of her booths, Papyrus walked quickly to the back rooms, ready to deal with what he assumed would be a rather deadly fight. Instead he opened a door to a scene that would give him nightmares for months. 

There was his alternate, laying in a ball in the corner of the room, sobbing and trembling. He didn’t have a scrap of clothing on him, and several of his bones were broken or twisted, crimson marrow dribbling down his ribs and spine. From Papyrus’ perspective his alternate was missing no less than three of his teeth, his mouth open awkwardly as he sobbed. 

Papyrus was in shock. He…he wasn’t prepared to handle this. Shaking his head he breathed deeply for a moment. Fell. He’d give this other him a name. Fell. Clenching his fists, he made himself calm down before he walked quietly over to Fell, who was trying desperately to hunch into a tight ball.

“Hey, Papyrus, right?” Fell flinched painfully, looking up, red tears pouring from his sockets.

“Y-y-yes, s-s-s-sir…” Wow. He stuttered worse than Red did. Papyrus got on his knees, grabbing a blanket from the bed on the corner of the room. He helped Fell sit up, wrapping it around him gently but snugly.

“Well, my name is also Papyrus, so I’m going to call you Fell. Is that alright?” Fell simply nodded, shaking gently. Papyrus smiled soothingly, his aura sending calming waves to the other’s soul. Once Fell had stopped crying, Papyrus wrapped his arms around him, humming softly until the other relaxed fully and melted into his arms, falling asleep in Papyrus’ lap. Papyrus smiled down at him, rubbing his skull gently, still sending lullabies to the other’s soul, keeping him in a peaceful state. They stayed that way for almost an hour before Fell started sobbing in his sleep again, murmuring to himself. When Papyrus finally heard what Fell was whimpering, he instantly wished he hadn’t.

“Please…please just let me die…”


	8. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!!!

Red balked when Stretch came home, his mouth in a firm line, his little brother in his arms. Something in his mind broke as he took in the broken, defeated form that Stretch carried over to the couch, setting him down gently before immediately wrapping his naked bones with the quilt that always sat on the back. Red stood in the kitchen doorway, his mind reeling. His brother…his powerful, abusive, strong in every way possible little brother, was beat to hell and shaking like he thought Stretch was gonna beat him. It was…extremely rattling.

Terrified, Red ran to the couch side, pushing past Stretch, tears in his eyes.

“Pap?” he whispered, putting his hand on Papyrus’ face, crying a little harder at the massive flinch from the contact. Papyrus looked up at him, unfocused for a moment, before his red eyelights brightened and he completely broke down.

“S-s-sans! S-sans...I-I’m sorry, I’m s-sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Papyrus was wailing in Red’s face, lifting his arms up just high enough to grab onto Red’s shirt, repeating his apology in between sobs and whimpers. Red was terrified, having never seen his brother break down like this. He held Papyrus tightly, loosening a little when Papyrus whimpered, before calming himself. He couldn’t help his brother by freaking out. Turning his head to Stretch, he surprised the taller skeleton with the fire in his sockets.

“Go get the first aid kit. And a warm cloth.” Stretch nodded, immediately leaving the couch to retrieve the items. Red stayed at his brother’s side, lowering the blanket to pool at his pelvis. He wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with anything down there yet. From the waist up was bad enough.

“Pap? Are you awake? Can you hear me?” Red caressed Papyrus’ face gently, looking him in the eyelights. Papyrus shuddered, nothing but hope and love coming off his soul in waves.

“I-i-i thought y-y-you were d-d-d-d…” Red shook his head, holding Papyrus’ skull with both hands before clanking his little brother on the forehead.

“I’d never leave you Pap. Not on purpose, anyways.” Red whispered. Papyrus looked into his eyes and broke down again, shaking and trembling, his bones rattling loudly. Red held him for a moment longer before looking up, taking the wet cloth from Stretch’s hand. He wiped his brother’s brow first, cleaning away the sweat and grime that seemed to have accumulated for weeks. He pushed the thought away. Papyrus needed his help. He couldn’t check out now. Steeling his soul, he finished gently cleansing Papyrus’s skull, taking extra care around his jaw, wiping away the blood marrow from the holes of four missing teeth, pausing any time the pain seemed to be too much for his brother. Blue had brought him a large bowel of warm water to ring the cloth in, and he used it before continuing to his brother’s neck and vertebrae.

Once he had cleaned the grime and blood marrow from the entirety of Papyrus’ skull, spine, and ribs, Red sat back, taking in his brother’s injuries. He had jagged holes where his teeth used to be, meaning that someone pulled them out, not knocked them out. He didn’t lose them in a fight. Someone held him down while they ripped them from his skull. Swallowing his rage, Red continued his thorough investigation. Several of his ribs were twisted just enough to be painful, and he was missing two of them completely. Shaking his head, he took the first aid kit from Stretch, wrapping his twisted ribs once he had carefully reset each, pausing for a few minutes in between so Papyrus could come back from the immense pain he was in. Once all that was taken care of Red helped Stretch get his brother into one of his clean white sweat-shirts, careful so nothing caught on the fluffy fabric.

“Pap, I gotta check your pelvis and legs, okay? I gotta check and wrap up anything that needs it and then we’ll get you in some pants and you can sleep, okay?” Papyrus got a scared grimace on his face, but he pushed his skull into Red’s open hand, nodding. Red smiled reassuringly before lowering the blanket. What he saw made his soul clench painfully. Papyrus tailbone was almost whittled away to nothing, his pelvic arc was cracked and scratched up, and a part of his sacrum was cracked along three of its holes.

Red had to step away for a moment, still holding Papyrus hand in his own. Stretch had disappeared, presumably out back to throw up. When Red turned back to his brother, he saw that Papyrus was staring intently at him, tears in his eyes but a serious look on his face.

“S-s-sans, I w-w-wanted to t-t-tell you that I’m s-s-sorry for how I t-treated you all t-those years, and for h-h-ow I h-hurt you…” Red was crying again, his face in his brother’s neck, holding him as tightly as he could without hurting him.

“No, no its okay, Pap. All behind us, right? No more.” Red breathed. Papyrus nodded, hugging Red as hard as he could.

“No more.”


	9. The Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little "hint" as to what happened to Fell... Enjoy!

It had been three days and Fell, as they had all agreed to call the new Papyrus, was still waking up screaming. Red would always be at his brother’s side when it was time to sleep, and so was the main one to calm him down and bring him back from his states of delirium. Blue was the usually the next to awake, hurrying as quickly as possible downstairs to get Fell anything he needed and, more often than not, going ahead and making breakfast tacos. Even Stretch, as heavily as he slept, was woken up from a dead sleep to his counterpart shrieking bloody murder.

It was the third of these nightly panic attacks that Red finally got some kind of information on who had hurt his little brother.

“Pap, calm down, its me, we’re safe, you’re safe…” Red whispered, rubbing Fell’s spine comfortingly.

“They w-wouldn’t stop…they ch-chewed and s-spat and…they w-wouldn’t k-k-kill me…THOSE DAMN DOGS WOULDN’T JUST LET ME DIE!” with that Fell burst into tears again, trembling, his eyelights tiny in his fear.

Red felt his eye sockets go hollow at his brother’s words, only able to hold him tightly as he broke down again. Red looked up towards the stairs and saw that Stretch had heard, and looked just as enraged as Red. Taking a deep, calming breath, Red laid his brother back down, laying his head on his chest. Fell was soon asleep again, his fingers entangled in Red’s.

“Try to get some sleep, okay?” Stretch said quietly before walking to the front door and slipping his tennis shoes on. Red was about to ask where he was going this late at night, but decided against it. Blue came when he heard the front door close a bit roughly and ran from the kitchen, pausing beside Red.

“Did Fell say something?” Blue asked, his large blue eyelights lacking their stars. Red just nodded, staring at his little brother’s face, his mouth slightly open from the pain of his missing teeth. Blue watched with him, his arms crossed across his chest as he swayed from foot to foot. Red had never seen his alternate this upset about something for this amount of time, and soon felt uncomfortable with the other standing behind him. Raising his head slowly, he turned to look Blue in the eye. Blue didn’t notice for a few minutes, until Red made a small noise in the back of his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just…he reminds me of Pap…and…” Red stood quietly, placing Fell’s hands back on his chest for a moment before he enveloped Blue in his arms. Taking in the other’s sniffles he held him tightly, speaking softly.

“It’s okay, I know. It hurts to see him in pain, I understand.” Blue could only nod, pressing his face deep into Red’s jacket as he tried to quiet his sobs. Soon he had started to calm down, Red rubbing his back, when he remembered his meat cooking in the other room. With a slight gasp he tore from Red’s arms, disappearing for a moment before giving Red a thumbs up from behind the wall. Red chuckled before settling back down in the chair he kept at his brother’s side, once again wrapping his own hands around his brother’s, laying his head on his ribs and closing his eyes.

~.~

Fell didn’t end up waking up in time for breakfast the next morning, so Stretch and Blue had to beg Red to come eat. He did, finally, although he left more than once throughout the meal to check on his brother. Red silently munched on a taco for a moment, before remembering that Stretch had left sometime the night before.

“Hey, Stretch? Where’d you go off to last night?” Stretch sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. It didn’t look like he had slept much once he had gotten home, not that Red was awake when he had.

“Went to go talk to the dogs. Told them to try and stay away from us as much as possible. Fell can’t stay cooped up in the house 24/7, ya know?” Red stared at him for a moment before nodding, looking back at his plate of food then deciding he was no longer hungry. Blue had also stopped eating, simply pushing his food around with a fork. They sat in silence for a moment before Blue sighed and began cleaning up, the other two following suit and dumping what they hadn’t eaten before putting their dishes in the sink.

Red walked back into the living room to check on Fell when Stretch’s hand lit on his shoulder, startling him slightly.

“We really need to take him to see Undyne. We won’t be able to heal him like he needs here.” Red was more than a little confused.

“Umm, how is the Captain supposed ta help?” Stretch stared at him a moment before realizing.

“Undyne is the Royal Scientist here. She’s a real sweet heart, but I understand where you two are coming from.” He jerked his head in Fell’s direction before continuing. “So Blue and I will come with. Trust me, Blue won’t let anything happen, and neither will I.” Red snorted, but nodded, giving Stretch a small smile of gratefulness before heading over to wake his brother. Stretch watched him and smiled inwardly. The kid really did care about his brother.


	10. The Labs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of rape, torture, and death in this one...Enjoy!!!

Fell, for the most part, was terrified to leave the house. He was terrified of most things now, when he really thought about it. He was terrified of the new place he was in. He was terrified at how similarly different everything was. He was terrified of his double, and his brother’s double, though, after they hadn’t done anything to hurt his own brother, he began to trust them a bit more, but not by any definable amount. And he was terrified of the one thing he should never had been afraid of. His own brother.

Sans…er, Red had told him he forgave him. He said it was all in the past, slept beside him comforted him after his nightmares. But Fell remembered all he had done to his only family. To his OLDER brother. There was no way in the Underground that his brother had just let it all go, just like that. So, he was afraid. Afraid that when the others weren’t looking, Red would turn to him with a vicious smile on his face and mock him for his weakness, hurt him after all he had been through. And he couldn’t honestly say he didn’t deserve it.

Because he did. He deserved every wretched thing those dogs did to him. He deserved it when they finally broke into his house, weeks after Undyne left him for dead. He didn’t blame her. He deserved it when the entire dog pack made residence in his home, tearing his things before his eyes as he was forced to kneel on the floor before them. He deserved every beating, every bone broken, every rib cracked. He even deserved it when they decided to make him a plaything, taking turns as they fucked him, delighting in his pleas for mercy and screams for help. 

Fell shuddered as he remembered hobbling to Grillby’s, after tediously making sure that all the dogs were asleep. He hadn’t slept in weeks. He pounded on the flame’s door as hard as his broken frame would allow and was met face to face with the purple fire, actually showing care in the ways his flames flickered. Papyrus begged Grillby to end him, to dust him, to stop his pain. And after a farewell that actually brought tears to his eyes, Grillby granted his request. He had then woke up with Muffet in his face, hysterical and mumbling nonsense.

“Hey, bro?” Fell was brought out of his personal thoughts by the sound of Red’s voice, slightly laced with concern. Even now Fell couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. Red was looking at him, the other two waiting by the door. Fell looked down at himself. He was borrowing the Orange him, Stretch, Red called him? He was borrowing his clothing as they really didn’t have anything else that would even remotely fit, and hadn’t had time to go look for any. He found the large white sweater and gray sweat-pants comfortable, he supposed, but with his bandages everything seemed to get caught on something every time he moved. 

“We can wait another day if you don’t think you can do this right now, Pap.” Ah, yes, they were waiting for him. Fell shook his head, standing to his feet carefully and making his way to the door. Red grabbed his hand and nodded to Stretch, who grabbed his own brother’s hand and looked pointedly at Fell.

“Close your eyes.” Fell did so without a word. He felt the distinct breeze of falling through the “Void”, as Red named it, and when it ended he blinked, shifting a little to get used to the feeling of solid ground under his feet once again. He felt the oppressive heat of Hotland and shuddered a little, trying to remind himself that it was not Alphys they were going to see. It was Undyne. Undyne had been the closest thing to a friend he had while in their universe. Red would protect him.

‘Sans shouldn’t be the one protecting you, you worthless piece of shit…’

Fell shook his head, driving back the dark shadows that threatened his psyche. He followed as Red pulled him along towards the large structure that was the Labs, and tried to control his breathing. Red would keep him safe. He wasn’t in any danger. This was Undyne, not Alphys. He wasn’t in their universe anymore. Fell opened his eyes and realized that they were standing in front of the doors to the Lab, Stretch pressing a buzzer. The massive doors opened almost immediately and all four of them walked in, Fell trying desperately to not begin to hyperventilate. He was looking around wildly, his mind making the hallway seem much smaller than it should have been and he couldn’t breath and Red’s hand was squeezing his own a little too much…when Fell was aware again he was sitting on the floor, his head between his knees and his arms wrapped tightly around himself. He looked up, wiping his tear-strewn cheek bones and coming face to face with his brother’s copy. Blue? He thought it was Blue.

“Are you okay now, Fell?” Fell stared at him for a moment, taken aback by the genuine tone of care in the other’s voice. He looked around for a moment and determined that they were alone in an examination room. He felt color come to his cheeks as he looked back at Blue, who was smiling.

“W-w-what happened?” Fell whispered. Blue frowned a little, sitting and crossing his legs.

“You went into a panic. My brother and your brother had to drag you here…it was really scary.” Fell nodded. He imagined it more than likely would be frightening to see someone go into a full-fledged panic attack when one was used to the seemingly peaceful universe they were now in. Fell still didn’t know how much he trusted that, but oh well.

“W-where is m-m-my brother?” Fell asked, looking around once again. Blue smiled and stood slowly, offering a hand. Fell regarded it or a moment before accepting it, letting this little blue version of his brother help him to his feet and make his way shakily to the medical cot in the room.

“He and my brother are talking to Undyne about why you freaked out. She, uh…she’s a very nervous person and you kinda scared her too. Not that it was your fault!” Blue quickly placated. Fell just stared at him. Shaking his head, Fell made himself comfortable on the cot, a wave of lethargy taking him over.

“W-wake me u-up when they c-c-come back.” Fell said, waiting for the other’s nod before relaxing and closing his eyes. Blue was something else.


	11. Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...enjoy?

Red hurried to his brother’s side as he entered the room, Blue quick to assure him that Fell had not tried to get up on his own. Red thanked Blue and looked back to Stretch who was still standing in the doorway, Undyne behind him. Looking between him and Blue for a moment, Red took a deep breath and sat beside his brother. Stretch took the hint and beckoned Blue out of the room, shutting the door quietly but firmly behind them.

“Hey, bro…” Red gently shook his brother’s shoulder, not really surprised when Fell awoke with a jerk, breath sped up. Fell looked around frantically for a moment until his jittery eyelights focused on his brother. The tension in his body released within an instant, so much so that Red smiled, wondering if his brother had gone back to sleep.

“Hey. I need ta talk to ya, bro.” Fell groaned, vaguely waving a hand in his direction, before he suddenly sat up, Red more than a little taken back by the pure terror in his eyes. He began to tremble, staring around the room. Red backed off the bed when the terror filled stare settled on him and the fear didn’t disappear this time. Fell backed up in the bed, eyes locked on his brother, eyelights missing from his sockets in his eyes. Red titled his head. Why would his bro be scared of him?

“I-i-I’m sorry, S-s-sans, I d-d-didn’t mean t-t-t…” Red stepped forward, hands up in an unintimidating way, cutting him off.

“Bro, you don’t have to be sorry for freaking out. I’m not gonna punish you or anything. Talk to me, yeah? Why are you scared of me?” Red waited until his brother had calmed down to sit again at his side, though he refrained from getting any closer. Fell looked a little ashamed that Red had picked up on his fear, his arms carefully wrapping around his chest in the way he did every time he was stressed out. It took a few minutes, but Fell finally spoke, though his voice was much quieter than Red was used to.

“Y-you shouldn’t s-s-still love m-me.” Red felt his soul stop at his brother’s words. What the actual fuck?

“Bro? What do you mean, I shouldn’t still love you? You’re my brother, of course I love you.” Red felt a tenseness build in his soul as tears began to bead along the bottom of Fell’s sockets.

“There’s n-n-no way you c-c-can just forgive m-me, after all the s-s-shit I d-d-did to you. I haven’t a-acted like a b-brother, I haven’t a-acted l-l-like family…I’VE A-ACTED L-LIKE A F-FUCKING BASTARD!” Fell was fully sobbing now, breaths ragged in his chest, which only made him whimper in pain. Red felt tears come to his own eyes as he fully processed what his brother meant by this.

“Bro…have you been afraid I’ll hurt you this whole time?” Red looked away when his brother gave a hesitant nod. He took several deep breaths himself, attempting to calm himself down before he freaked out himself and made things worse. Finally turning to his brother, who had since stopped actively crying but was still hiding in his own arms, Red set himself and crawled onto the bed fully, wrapping his arms carefully but firmly around his brother.

“Papyrus, I will never hurt you. I meant what I said before, what’s in the past is in the past. You don’t have any reason to be scared anymore; we aren’t home. Monsters don’t kill here. You don’t have to fear them, and you sure as hell don’t have to fear me.” Red felt his brother slowly melt into his arms, more exhausted from his emotional breakdowns than he would have let on normally. Red smiled softly, laying down with his brother, wrapping one arm around his brother’s ribs and settling into his back, just enough to let Fell know he was there with him, that he wasn’t going to leave. Fell settled into Red’s arms, sockets slipping slowly shut.

Sans had never lied to him before. He didn’t look like he was lying, at least. Fell had always been able to trust his brother, even when he became the bastard he was then. The voices in the back of his mind growled that Sans didn’t mean it. That Fell didn’t deserve his forgiveness or his love. Fell silenced them as he slipped further into sleep. All the guilt could wait until he woke up.


	12. Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, would you look at that. Honey mustard.

Red waited until his little brother’s breathing had evened out completely before he moved, gently untangling himself and slipping from the mattress as carefully as he could. He wanted nothing more than to continue holding his bro, but he could feel the panic creeping up on him. He needed to quickly get out of this room, out of this building. Just long enough to scream into the Void a bit. So, closing the door with barely a click, Red took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and took a shortcut.

Something went wrong. Red knew that as soon as he felt a distinct drain on his magic, his body crumpling into the snow. He had reached his destination, what the hell had…? Red heard a low groan behind him and spun around, finding Stretch sprawled on the ground, one hand still gripping the arm of his coat. Red ripped away, sitting against a tree trunk, glaring at the relaxed version of his brother.

“What the hell?!” Red growled, frown deepening as Stretch huffed and chuckled, not bothering to get up off the ground.

“Wanted to make sure you weren’t trying to take off or anything. Get hurt.” Stretch gave a pained hiss as he finally sat up, his spine obviously giving him problems. Red rose a single brow, an unimpressed look on his face.

“Yeah, uh. I think you should have worried about yourself first a bit there, Stretch.” Red smirked as Stretch laughed and nodded, leaning back on a tree across from him, close enough to be comfortable, but not too close. They sat there for a moment, Red completely forgetting for a moment why he had left in the first place. Until he looked up and saw a questioning look in Stretch’s sockets, obviously wanting to know why the hell he had decided to just take off like that. Red took a calming breath, but refused to look at Stretch as he spoke.

“He, uh... He’s been scared I’m gonna kill him this whole time. Or at least hurt him.” Red said, his voice low and full of pain. Stretch simply stared in disbelief. The monster who had hurt, degraded, and scarred his older brother, was scared he was going to get hurt in return? It made sense, if it was anyone but Red. If Fell hadn’t already been through hell and back, still not all there mentally from the horror he had endured. But for Fell to be afraid Red was going to kill him…

Stretch got up and sat beside Red, gently pulling him into his lap, resting his teeth on the top of his skull. Red felt a few, hot tears escape, before he broke down, face buried in Stretch’s hoodie as he sobbed. Stretch didn’t care about his hoodie getting soaked, or about how uncomfortable he was while sitting on the hard, snow covered ground. All he cared about was comforting this little skeleton who had gone through hell, and came out on the other side to freedom and safety. Helping Fell would take a long time. Completely mending their relationship would take longer. Stretch was patient.

“Hey, look up at me for a sec.” Stretch whispered. Red took a deep, stuttering breath before titling his head back, eyelights still pointed down. Stretch smiled softly, before he closed the distance, lightly pecking Red’s teeth with his own. Red looked up, crimson bathing his face as he stared Stretch in the eye, shocked. Stretch grinned, holding him tightly against his chest.

“I’m gonna be there for you. To talk to. If you need someone to cry on. Please don’t forget that.”

Red blinked, face still a bright red as he processed the other’s words, before he simply closed his eyes and sank into the other’s chest.

“Okay.”


	13. Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get the feeling Blue is a very easy to relax around skeleton...when he's not on a sugar high.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!!

Fell sat on the edge of the cot he had been sleeping on, feet planted firmly on the ground and arms wrapped a little too tight around his ribs. He could feel them cracking, just minuscule little cracks in the bone that would be normally nothing more than minor annoyances, if he hadn’t already been hurt. He didn’t care. His arms squeezed marginally tighter, a slightly louder crack rang out, and Fell suddenly found nothing but bright, jarring blue in his vision.

“FELL! YOU CAN’T INJURE YOURSELF FURTHER, PLEASE LAY DOWN!” Fell jerked back a bit, hissing in the pain that motion brought, Blue in his face with a stern glare. Fell attempted to glare back, but his recent, forced hard wiring to never challenge his “betters” quickly made him drop his gaze. He obediently pushed himself back onto the cot and covered himself, though he sat with his back against the wall. He didn’t like laying down. It made him feel vulnerable.

“I’m very sorry for yelling, I shouldn’t…I’m sorry. Why were you hurting yourself?” Blue asked as soon as he was settled, sitting on the edge of his bed. Fell shrugged, still not looking at him.

 “D-didn’t r-r-realize it, I g-guess.” He whispered, Blue straining to hear what he said. Blue nodded slowly. He couldn’t imagine going through even half of what Red and his brother had gone through, and he felt horrible for Red…but seeing someone who was technically the same person as his brother hurt like this…broken like this…Blue was determined to do everything possible to help Fell get better, no matter how long it took.

“Well…that’s okay then. I’ll try to help you notice if it happens again, alright?” Blue smiled as Fell nodded, though it didn’t escape his notice as to how mechanic the action was. Fell was conditioned in a very short amount of time to obey without question, it seemed. Blue would just have to help Fell remember himself! Well…the himself that didn’t hurt his brother. That was another thing about the entire situation that vexed Blue. Red was like this because of Fell. Fell was like this because of some horrors that took place once Red came to them. Blue shook his head. The two had reconciled with each other. There was nowhere to go but forward!

“Fell, I’m going to ask you some questions, and you can answer with yes or no. Does that sound okay?” Blue got settled on the end of the cot as he spoke, stars in his sockets. Fell tilted his head a bit, looking perplexed.

“Why d-do you w-wish to int-terrogate me?” he asked softly, though his stutter seemed to have lessened, just from the curiosity he held. Blue made a little noise of joy in his head before answering.

“I don’t want to interrogate you, Fell. I just want to get to know you better!” Blue smiled a large, genuine smile, keeping it in place even as Fell stared at him unconvinced. Finally, after a long moment, Fell nodded and looked away again. Blue’s smile dropped a bit, though he quickly asked his first question while he had Fell’s attention.

“Do you have a favorite color?” Fell looked over now, clear confusion on his face.

“Yes?” Blue nodded for him to continue, and Fell huffed lightly. “I th-thought you s-s-said these would be Y-yes, No?” Blue giggled a little at Fell’s slight pout.

“You don’t have to answer, I was just wondering if you would like to tell me! It’s okay if you don’t though.” He paused, trying to think of another question that wouldn’t set off the skeleton. “Do you like tacos?” Fell, because of his sore mouth, had not been able to try his tacos yet; something that Blue was excitedly waiting for an opportunity to show him.

“…No?” Fell said, looking slightly baffled, though as soon as Blue’s cheeks seemed to puff up in anger, his confusion turned slightly to amusement.

“How can you not like tacos?!” Blue fairly yelled, though still not as loudly as he would have normally. Fell actually snorted; quietly, though it was there.

“I’ve n-never had t-tacos. S-so I c-can’t say I l-l-like them.” Fell said simply, shrugging. Blue felt a little thrill in his soul; he was getting him to open up! Slowly, and certainly it would not take a single day, but he was starting that long path!

The two continued bickering through the night, Undyne having decided that, because of his attack, they could wait to do Fell’s evaluation till the next day. They argued on whether pasta or tacos were the best, what kinds of cheese went with what dishes, if Nappstabot or Mettaton were better actors, and whose brother was lazier. Blue noticed that, as they talked about their brothers, Fell tended to not say anything negative about his own, claiming that while he was in fact very lazy, he didn’t sleep well and the stresses of their universe made him so. Then he became uncomfortable and they moved on, discussing various treasures they had found in the dump; all the movies that had seen, the books they had read.

After talking for so long, Fell’s stutter became less and less, as though he trusted that Blue wasn’t going to hurt him for disagreeing with him. He still grew quiet at times, and never fully smiled, but Blue considered it a good night. He had gotten through to the dark, yet interesting and relatively young skeleton at least a little bit, and felt proud of him.

“My favorite color is green.” Fell whispered after a long bout of silence, both of them on their backs and simply staring at the ceiling, laying opposite direction of each other. Blue opened his eyes, a tad bit baffled.

“I would have thought it would have been black or red, with what your brother wears.” Fell chuckled airily.

“It’s a color r-rarely seen in my universe. Everything is t-tinged gray…but sometimes I f-find a spot, deep in the forest.” Fell paused, as if remembering such a place in his mind. “The green is always…v-vibrant, c-compared to everything else. Compared to all the red and b-black and white and gray.”

Blue nodded that he understood. He couldn’t imagine living somewhere with such…limited, dull colors. “My favorite color is blue.” Now Fell snorted out loud, releasing a little “Nyeh.”

“I n-never would have guessed.”


	14. Short and Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, in fact, the last chapter of Forgiveness and Sacrifice. I will probably do a sequel of sorts that will be based on more shippy aspects of these four, but F&S is done ^^
> 
> It was a fun ride. F&S was actually the first Undertale story I ever started writing (as you can probably tell by the beginning quality of the chapters XD). I'd like to think I've grown since then.
> 
> Sorry its so short, but this one wasn't about the length of the chapters.
> 
> Enjoy!!!!

Red and Stretch had come back to the Labs sometime during the night, but couldn’t bring themselves to interrupt the magic Blue seemed to be performing on Red’s little brother. Stretch watched as his brother got Fell to open up, to actually talk about things without freaking out, and felt a smile of pride stretch across his face. He led Red across the compound, to a spare bedroom Undyne kept for emergencies. Inside was a medium sized bed, a desk, and a television. Red flipped the TV on just long enough to become disgusted with the reception in Hotland, flopping on the bed after turning it back off with a curse. 

Stretch sat carefully beside him, fully aware that, whatever had occurred in the forest, Red was still nervous about certain things. Once he got a nod of acceptance he flopped down as well, the room silent for the first few minutes as they both processed all that had happened that night.

“Thank you. For letting him live.”

Stretch opened his eyes, turning his head to look at Red, who was silently staring at the ceiling. He rose a brow, asking a question without opening his mouth. Red looked over and smirked, before looking away.

“You didn’t have to let my bro live, after what he did to me. I’m thanking you cause you didn’t kill him on the spot.” Red said simply, shrugging after he was finished. Stretch continued to look at him for a moment, before he turned away, a thoughtful frown on his face.

“I wouldn’t have killed him when he was hurt like that.” Stretch whispered. Red chuckled lowly.

“I didn’t think so.”

~.~

The next day Red and Blue sat on either side of Fell as Undyne checked his major breaks and fractures, putting healing magic-infused bandages on the worst sites. For his missing teeth she simply used a bit of her own healing magic and told him to be careful until they grew back. With that they went home, Blue and Fell walking in front of Red and Stretch, talk filling the air between them of tacos and magnificence. 

Red and Stretch would exchange looks every now and then over something Blue would say and Fell would respond to, the three healthier skeletons very aware of the lessening of Fell’s stuttering. As they passed the border between Hotland and Waterfall, Blue and Fell stopping every now and then to listen to the echo flowers and leave their own messages. Red reached over during one such stop and took a gentle hold of Stretch’s hand with his own, a light red flush on his face. Stretch looked down at their joined hands, then up at Red, before smiling a soft smile. 

Looked like everything would turn out alright after all.


End file.
